Boundary Lines

People move forward in their lives to the point where they encounter fear, pain or disappointment. Then they take a step back and that point becomes the boundary-line of their lives. They don’t move beyond. The longer a person lives, the more of these boundaries he will encounter. Eventually, life is like a fenced-in pasture. The animals in the fence are free to graze at their leisure. But, they are not free to explore.

Years ago, I enclosed a large pasture with one long, electric wire. The horses kept breaking through the wire on their way to explore “greener” pastures. They were so intent on where they were going they never saw the wire and it didn’t shock them because they went through it so quickly. After trying several methods to persuade them to stay in the pasture I had created, I hit on an idea. I bought a roll of orange plastic ribbon and cut pieces about 2 feet long. I tied pieces of ribbon to the wire every few feet so the ends hung down in the air. Then, I led each horse to the wire until a part of its body touched the wire, sending a shock to the horse’s system. Of course, the horse jumped back away from the wire. From then on, I had a pasture full of horses, content to eat the grass in their own pasture and they never went through the wire seeking greener pastures again. The pain had established the boundaries of their existence.

Step around your fears, pain and disappointments and discover a whole new panorama of possibilities.